An Empire Lost
by madori
Summary: From an foreign land A heroine emerges, Lost Kingdoms crossover, chapter 6 now revised!
1. Chapter 1

Six years ago, was the end of the world. The Black fog covered the land consuming all in its path.

One by one, the great kingdoms of Argywell fell. But from the darkness, a light emerged, driven by duty, and guided by the guardians of the holy runestone, she drove the mist back and slew the god of destruction's puppet Thanatos and imprisoned the foul Deity within a sacred card, to be called again when the time of disaster came.

Now, the time of crisis has arrived, to a foreign land she must travel, to face the very forces of hell itself.

My name is Katia; Queen of Alanjeh, and this is my story.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Deliverance

Ugh, what the hell is it this time? Katia fumed as she opened h bedroom window

The usually righteous acting Katia was in a VERY bad mood today.

Since she had "saved the realm" and became Queen, she had been inundated with suitors from every corner of the continent.

Oh hell no.

Katia grumbled as she violently closed the shutters, seeing the new brood of men swarming outside the castle gates.

She could never leave the castle, and it was infuriating.

What is troubling you child?

Gurd always called her child, despite how many times she protested against it.

I don't know Gurd, no matter how many times the guads haul these men away, they just come back.

He he he, I know what you mean child, but cheer up;

Katia lifted her head

The goddess of creation has requested your presence.

Finally! Katia said in an instantly happy mood as she fastened her runestone onto her braided hair.

How about showing those men a good time

Gurd said, her wrinkled face curled into a wicked smile

I think I know of just the thing Katia said, picking up a card from the bottom of her deck, depicting a black dragon, her face curled into a similarly evil smile.

Outside the castle guards were having a very difficult time controlling the crowd of testosterone fuled men.

"For the last time! You may not see Queen Katia!!"

Katia walked up to the gate.

Raising the card she had chosen, she spoke one simple word

Rise.

In a flash of light, Katia was gone, replaced by an enormous black dragon, towering over the crowd outside the castle.

"Foolish mortals!" the voice boomed.

"I will reward your kindness with Death!"

Panic ensued, as Katia, now the dragon, began breathing fire into the air.

As soon as the crowd had dispersed she returned to her true form.

"fun as that was, I must be going"

She spoke to the guard outside the gate, who was still dumbstruck by the previous display

Ruh-Arok Temple.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-._Welcome Katia…_

_Through time and chaos your services are needed again…_

_The Nine hath chosen ye…_

My lady what does this mean?

Katia asked to the goddess' cryptic statement

_We watch over ye Katia._

_Oh child of man, take these cards. _

_When the time of crisis comes we shall answer._

Katia marveled as two cards, materialized , depicting the avatars of the goddess of creation and the god of harmony, she took out the god of destruction card.

Thank you my lady, I will not fail you, where do you request me to travel to?

_In time Ye shall understand, fare thee well Katia…_

Wha….

A flash of light enveloped Katia at that last word, and she was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3; Prison…

(flashback)

Wha!...

_Farewell, Daughter of Man._

And with a flash, she was gone.

(end flashback)

Ugh…What in the name of the Gods just HAPPENED!!

Katia fumed finding herself on a cold stone floor.

"Prison, how quaint. Why does this not surprise me

And then she heard it:

"Oh, look, an Imperial in the Imperial Prison. I guess they don't play favorites, huh? Your own kinsmen think you're a piece of human trash. How sad. I bet the guards give you "special" treatment before the end. Oh, that's right. You're going to die in here, Imperial! You're going to die! Imperial criminal scum like you give the Empire a bad name, you see. You're an embarrassment. Best if you just... disappeared."

She looked into the opposite cell.

Imperial, never heard of an imperial?

"but, Ive never seen someone with skin that color; she said with a falsely concerned voice.

You should really go see a physician I think you may have a _DISEASE._

She continued in an increasingly annoyed voice.

_Why you indignant little harle…_

He was interrupted by the sight of a strange card being tossed into his cell.

_What is this a joke?_

(…in a manner)she thought

With a snap of her fingers the card disappeared and was replaced with an angry looking ostrich type bird, which promptly started chasing the rude lout around his cell

--(FYI, The card is called the running bird)--

_Get this deformed bird away from me.. please!!_

The man pleaded

Katia was about to recall the beast to its card when something happened:

The card banished itself

"Odd, that's never happened before."

Katia muttered s her Runestone rotated and stopped glowing

"that certainly isn't good"

She muttered again when she heard a voice, a woman's voice.

"Baurus! Lock that door behind us!"

The commanding voice said, followed by a prompt Yessir, by the one she assumed to be Baurus

Then another voice came, this one was that of a somber old man

"my sons….they're dead, aren't they."

He said in a tone of one who had experienced great loss in his lifetime.

"we don't know that sire, the page only said they were attacked"

The stern female voice said

"no, they're dead, I know it"

"Sire we must keep going, my job right now is to get you to safety"

Now the group of people were right outside her cell.

The old man was dressed in the garb of royalty, a violet robe lined with ruffs of white fur, a scarlet surcoat underneath. Around his neck he wore possibly the largest gem she had ever seen, save for her runestone.

The three guards were wearing the oddest suits of armour she had ever seen, with multiple strips of steel overlapping each other in several odd configurations.

"whats this prisoner doing in here this cell is supposed to be off limits"

The female guard barked to one of the others

"_Prisoner INDEED"_ _Katia fumed_

"**Usual mix up with the watch I…"**

The other guard said before he was interrupted

"never mind get that gate open"

The guard named Baurus approached her,

"Prisoner, Go over there by the window and stay put!"

"_Do I look like a PRISONER!!"_

Katia retorted to the guard

Who himself was confused, she did not look like a prisoner, she had an enormous gem hairpiece and fine clothes on, surely the prison guards would have confiscated them.

Then the old man approached her

You…I've seen you…Let me see your face…You are the one from my dreams…Then the stars were right, and this is the day. Gods give me strength.

"Milord, What is going on?"

Katia asked confused

"Assassins attacked my sons, and I'm next. My Blades are leading me out of the city along a secret escape route. By chance, the entrance to that escape route leads through your cell."

Who are you, how do you know me?

"Assassins attacked my sons, and I'm next. My Blades are leading me out of the city along a secret escape route. By chance, the entrance to that escape route leads through your cell."

"I am, Uriel Septim. By the grace of the Gods, I serve Tamriel as her ruler. Although you are not from here you, too, shall serve her in your own way."

"_Sire that does not answer my question completely"_

"I am sorry child, we must keep moving, the gods have been set in motion things that cannot be undone. You will find your own path. Take care…there will be blood and death before the end."

"_Milord I will try my best to follow"_

Katia said, however thinking something completely different.

"_what a COMPLETE LUNATIC!"_

The female guard then pressed a stone on the wall of her cell

And to Katia's surprise, the wall opened to reveal a passage,

It was time to make her escape--

Hope you guys liked this chapter,

I forgot to say before Bethesda own oblivion, From Software owns Lost kingdoms

I own NOTHING


	4. chapter 4

Chapter 4; Rambling part I

--after the constant babble of the prison cell……………………………………………………

She thought, recalling the emperor's words as she walked through the dank tunnel out into a very large stone room. The ceiling was vaulted and eerily glowing gems lined the stone walls.

Katia started to become genuinely worried

"_This isn't good"_

Her Runestone had deactivated, and did not respond to her commands… She was completely in the dark without her cards or a weapon.

And just as she expected…Trouble came.

She heard the female guard commanding the others to protect the emperor, followed by a bloodcurdling scream, Katia could already tell, Captain Renault was dead.

She ran up to the emperor

"_What happened?"_

"Child, they have come for me._"_

The emperor said, his voice unwavering.

"**Sire we have to go**"

"Do not fear child, our paths shall meet once more!"

The emperor said as his blades quickly guided him through an iron gate.

--**(don't even try to follow us prisoner)**

Baurus said as he locked the gate

Katia ran up to the bars protesting

"_You don't just intend to leave me do you?"_

"**Yes that is our complete intent"**

"_but…"_

Baurus slammed the door in her face.

"_B.E.A.Utiful" _

Katia said; alone

"_Wait.. what's that"_

Katia thought to herself, hearing a thudding noise.

She came to her senses when two of the LARGEST rats she had ever seen jumped throught the wall they had just so convieniently knocked down.

"_might as well go this way"_

She thought, picking up the sword she had taken from Captain Renault's body

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After the subterranne;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

_How could they be waiting for us here?_

Katia heard voices coming from over the precipice she was standing on

She recognized the first voice as that of Baurus

"I don't know, but I suggest we find a defensible spot here"

The second, was the voice of the very angry man who had accompanied Baurus and the Emperor.

"_Help!, what makes you think help will come, we've got to get the Emperor to safety"_

Suddenly, Katia saw the sillouette of the grimly familiar red robed assassin.

Instead of screaming, she decided to make use of the bow she conveniently found on her detour around the locked door.

She nocked an arrow and pulled back the string

"say"

She let the arrow fly

"goodnigh…_oops!"_

She studdered.

The arrow she originally had aimed at the center of the assasin's torso, the arrow landed with a sickening squish as it buried itself squarely in the asassin's crotch.

The assassin fell from his precipice screaming like a girl the entire way, in the process alerting the emperor and his bodyguards of the presence of the assailents.

"Glenroy! Behind you!"

Baurus yelled.

Glenroy turned around to find that he assassin was twitching on the floor crying like an infant.

"p..p…please..k…k….kill…m….m…m….me." the assassin studdered.

Baurus suddenly realized the cause when he saw the arrow emerging from between the assasin's legs.

He looked up to the precipice opposite to the one from where the assassin came.

"_Hi! Remember me!"_ Katia said cheerfully, holding up her bow

Glenroy drew his sword, however the Emperor quickly silenced him

"_No, she is not one of them, she can help us, she must help us"_

--Hope you guy's liked it!

The fewer reviews I get the slower the chapters come, So R&R!!

Give any Ideas you may have, if I like Em, Il put em in, PM me, or anything ya like, jus give me SOME FEEDBACK!!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5, Eclipsed sunrise

"They cannot understand why I trust you. They'e not seen what I've seen….. Katia"

"_He knows my name!" _I thought to myself.

"You do not know the Nine, do you? Daughter of Man." He said to me

I shook my head "_how does he know do much about me?"_

"The Nine guide and protect us, I've served the Nine all my days, and I chart my course by the cycles of the heavens. The skies are marked with numberless sparks each a fire, and every one a sign. I know these stars well, and I wonder…which sign marked your birth?"

I decide to swallow my doubt and try to answer as best I could.

"I was born under the sign of the dragoness, I am not sure what you may call it here, my Lord"

His face stiffened with determined, as if I had just struck a nerve."

"Then my fate is sealed" he said, his voice calm.

"_Aren't you afraid to die?" _ I asked  
No trophies of my triumphs proceed me. But I have lived well, and my ghost shall rest easy.

"You carry a great burden my lord, You have my empathy You really do" I said, Remembering my father, slain before my very eyes, Before I could save Him.

He was the only family I had left.

The emperor spoke again, his time with the understanding a father could know.

"Yes child, I know, but do not depair, Men are but flesh and blood. They know their doom, but not the hour. In this I am blessed to see the hour of my death…To face my apportioned fate, then fall."

I twitched at this macabre reassurance

"_He embraces his death?" _I thought to myself trying to make sense of it all.

"You are not from here.."

"N…." he continued speaking

"Katia, Queen of Alanjeh."

"_How does he know this!" _

I was dumbstruck I had hardly spoken a word to him, and he knows my entire life by memory.

"As you've probably guessed by now, Katia," he said as we continued our trek through the decaying passages.

"you are not like us, You are a Daughter of Man, the kindred of the gods of existence, your land lay across the seas of Nirn, ever present, yet never seen."

"You were always meant to save us Katia, You are the Child of Harmony herself."

I said nothing

We came to an open chamber, my mind was tangled with question, but that, I knew, had to wait.

Glenroy spoke up

"I don't like this, let me take a look."

He said as he moved ahead to investigate the seemingly empty room.

He walked up to a closed Iron gate, Assumably our way out.

"Damn! The gate is barred from the other side! It's a trap!"

Glenroy yelled as he drew his sword.

"Glenroy!"

Baurus called

"What about that side passage over there?"

He said, pointing to a separate tunnel in the room.

"worth a try"

Glenroy said walking into the chamber, beckoning us to follow.

Baurus waved the Emperor and I into the room, I drew my sword.

The room was a dead end

I sighed, hopelessly, but was quickly snapped out of it.

I heard a ruckus outside the room, Baurus turned to me, urgency in his voice.

"Stay here with the Emperor, guard him with your life!"

He commanded, turning to fight the oncoming swarm of asassins.

"Get behind me my lord!" I sadi,

A hand grabbed my shoulder.

"Katia, This is where we must part, I can go no further"

The empeor spoke, his voice cracking with the slightest twinge of fear.

"No! You musnt think that way, we're getting you out of here"

"This time it was I who was beginning to cry"

The emperor held my chin up, my eyes meeting his

"There will be a time to grieve later, You must be strong, you alone must stand against the Prince of Destruction"

He spoke, the fear now absent from his voice.

"Take the Amulet;" he said, unfastening it from his neck and pressing it into my hand

"Take it to Jauffre, find my son, and close shut the Jaws...of Oblivion"

He closed my fingers around the amulet

"No" I cried tears streaming down my face

He raised his hand

"farewell, Child of Man"

He said. And no sooner than he finished, I was thrown across the room by some invisible force.

I looked in horror as The wall behind him opened and an assassin emerged, bringing his mace down on the emperor's skull.

And with his dying breath, my Runestone…reawakened.

Something inside my head snapped. My sorrow turned to rage, and I instinctively pulled a card from my deck.

The Lycanthrope, bound soul of a Werewolf.

"Girl, you've chosen a very bad day to associate with the Septims"

And that was the last straw

I rose from the spot I rested, malice and rage in my eyes

"_You!!"_ I hissed

" _You will be the one regretting the moment YOU LAID A HAND ON HIM!!_

I screamed as I bound the card to my body, I felt my bones rearranging, my body melting into a the shape of the spirit bound into the card.

The assassin cringed back, trying to run.

But he didn't get far. In my new form I grabbed him in my hand, snarling at him.

The man sniveled, trying to be for his life.

"p..please, don't hurt me.._Agh_" He grunted as I dug my claws further into his flesh

"_May Thanatos have mercy_ _on your soul!" _ I growled, my voice distorted by my new form

Unbeknownst to me, Baurus, having finished off the remaining men, had been watching the entire ordeal.

I heard a sickening snap, as the assasin's body went limp

I tossed the corpse away, and cried.

Manifested as a howl and melting into my sobs as my body melted back to my true form.

I held the emperor in my arms

"_He doesn't deserve this"_

I thought, wiping the tears from my cheek.

"_the only person in this strange new land who had shown me kindness, was dead"_

"You can come out now Baurus."

I said still not taking my eyes off the emperor's body.

--Baurus felt that he had failed the Emperor, But he couldn't bring himself to beat himself about it, not around the girl, so he decided to try to comfort her as best he could.

"He gave you the Amulet of Kings, saw something in you." Baurus said softly

"Did he say anything before he died?" he contined.

I spoke, this time, the sorrow gone from my body, I intended to fulill my promise to the emperor"

"Yes, He said to take it to Jauffre, he said that there is another Heir."

Baurus face lit up

"nothing I ever knew about, but he would know. He is the grandmaster of my order"

"Do you know where to find him, Baurus?"

I asked

"Yes, he lives as a monk at Weynon Priory, outside the city of Chorrol, north of here"

He responded

He pressed a key into my hand

"This key will unlock the door to the sewers, that was where we were headed.

"Thank you Baurus" I said as I began to turn away, but I stopped, looking to the sword tied to my belt. I unfastened the katana belonging to captain Renault, and held it up in front of Baurus.

"Captain Renault's sword" Baurus said, taking the blade from my hands

"Thank you for recovering this, I will see that it gets a place of honor in the hall of the blades"

I only nodded my head

"now get going!" He said "we don't know how many of those bastards may e waiting for you down there, ill make sure no one follows you" Baurus said, as I opened the door to the sewers.

The Emperors last words echoed through my head, as I opened the grate before me, And took my first steps into the light, of this strange new world.

--_What did you guys think? _

_Remember, The fewer reviews I get, The slower the updates come._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5, Lost.

--Thunk…-------

I shut the heavy Iron Gate behind me, leaving behind the last shred of the accursed sewer.

"_Oh Crap!" _I said, realizing that I didn't know where weynon priory was!

"_Oh well"_ I thought, seeing a large stone bridge in the distance.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I contemplated to myself why I did not decide to just visit the imperial city, instead of wandering aimlessly across the countryside. On one hand, I could get some new clothes and a night's rest, on the other hand, the emperor had just been assonated, I was soaked in blood, and on top of all those pointers, I was just a prisoner and the emperor just happened to take a stroll through my cell, so I decided that it was safer to follow the latter. Little did I know that I was walking right into a trap.

As I began to make my way across the bridge, I was cut off by a very strange sight, a cat slash person, run up to me. If he wasn't carrying a very large axe with him, I would have probably melted (figuratively, of course).

"**Give me all of your money!" **he hissed

"_This can't be good"_ I thought

"_I don't have any money!" _I said in the most helpless voice I could muster up

"**Your hairpiece, mmm, I like it, Hand it over if you want to live" ** he purred (pardon the pun)

"What a nut!" I thought, sliding a card from my deck without turning my gaze from him

"_Of course"_ I sniffled, "Its all you.."

What I saw next was even stranger than seeing a talking cat try to rob me, the highwaycat, suddenly flew from the bridge, screaming, as if tossed by an invisible hand.

Another cat person ran up to me, I prepared to summon a monster to defend myself

"Are you alright?" the cat asked

I didn't answer, instead, I looked very closely at his face, examining it as if to see if it was a mask.

And then, I snapped

" _You…are…so..CUTE!!!!" I squealed_

"You apparently have never seen a Khajiit before have you?" he said, uncomfortable about the proximity of my face to his.

I stepped back, thinking.

"_Khajiit? So that's what you guys are called!"_

The Khajiit spoke again."I can also see that you are not from around here, probably lost, would you mind telling me where you are headed, I'd hate to see such a nice lady like you get hurt."

I giggled at his coment

"_Sure, Im headed towards Weynon priory, but im really not sure where it is, dou you know where it is?" I asked_

"Weynon priory? That's about a two day's walk from here, I would be..honored to escort you there.

He said

"_does this guy have the hots for me?"_ I thought, unknowingly blushing

"thank you very much, im Katia, what's your name.

The kahjiit spoke up again

"you may call me…Madori…" He purred

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We had been walking for about an hour before I summoned up the courage to speak to him.

"_so…how did you get rid of that bandit_?" I asked

"heh" 'Ri scoffed at my question. "Telekenesis spell, if you haven't already noticed, im a mage"

He said, pointing to the insignia on his robe.

"Ive been meaning to ask you" he said "where did you get that hairpiece?"

"_!!!, Damn, why do they always ask about it?!" I thought, trying to find a way to drive his mind from the subject._

I spoke the first thing that came to my mind; "_Why do you ask?_" I said

"_Man that was smooth!"_ I thought. Why do I always have to give the stupid answer!!

"I'm sure its nothing" Ri said, "But your hairpiece, its giving off an enormous amount of magica, is it enchanted?"

Strike two,

think of something! Anything! He proably doesn't even know what a Runestone is!

"_it's a Runestone!_ I said nervously, "_my father gave it to me before he died!"_

Ri's eyes lit up like fireworks.

"really! I didn't even think that was possible!"He said with excitement;

Strike three

"_Shit! Shit! Shit! He knows. " I thought_

"what does it do?" he asked

I gave it one last try to get him off my case;

"_Nothing! Is it supposed to?" _I said

Madori's face soured, like he was thinking, really hard, then lit up again

"don't toy with me, I must know, what does it DO?" He demanded "Does it summon armor, weapons?"

I gave up, "_ive got to tell him"_

"it lets me summon monsters" I said defeated " It uses cards with imprisoned souls boun within them, the runestone releases them, or allows me to bind my soul to them, letting me take its form"

I sighed, shaking my head in defeat, certain that he would think I was some sort of necromancer.

"Lets see!" He said

I was dumbstruck by his response

"_you don't think im some sort of demon?" _I said with surprise

"of course not!" he said "just because something is new, doesn't mean that its evil, so come on, I want to see this thing in action!"

"_I think im beginning to like this guy!" I thought_

I pulled out a few, cards, looking for the least lethal of them, and put the rest back!

"_Alright!" I said "this one is an independent card, all I have to do is throw the card and tell it my target."_

The first card the ever familiar running bird; I held the card close to my face, and tossed it toward a nearby tree. The card awakened, and the bird began chasing the nearest thing to it, in this case, a squirrel.

"Im not convinced" Ri said "any self respecting mage can do that, allow me to demonstrate."

Madori held his hands together and muttered a short incantation; and from the red mist that appeared afterword, a very miscevious looking impish creature, emerged and proceeded to defeating my running bird,.

"_Leave it out," I grumbled, taking out another card "this is a weapon card, when I summon it, a monster briefly appears to attack for me"_

I looked at the red lizard card I had picked, held my arms across my body, and summoned the card as I reached forward. The card awakened, and the imp the Ri had summoned, disappeared into the familiar red mist as it was sliced in three by the creature's two crossing swords"

"Impressive, but you have still not shown me the transformation card you have been bragging about" Ri said, egging me on.

"_Fine!" I said, taking out my personal favorite card, the black dragon, "You may want to take a few steps back!"_

I held the card to my face, but this time I muttered t_he _incantation to bind the card to my body.

"_Argwyllan,kyriallias , ki`teate" I screamed as my body began reforming._

In a flash, I was replaced by the form of the black dragon.

"Wow…."ri gasped, dumbstruck. "This should be impossible, lets see what you can do!"

"_Much obliged" _I growled.

I tried to exhale a fireball, but it would't form. The runestone, by my own stupidity, ran out of power. Stupid me for playing 1up with unstable magical powers.

I reappeared in front of ri, on the ground, My dress blown over my head, completely humiliated.

"_Ri…"_ I sighed, bringing myself to my feet, "_we need to find somewhere to sleep_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------Hope you guys liked this chapter, , however im sorry to say that if this pattern of no reviews continues, I may just put the story on hiatus, I need feedback to inspire me, so R&R, or else, other than that Have a nice day!!! J


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Into the Abyss

_(Oblivion, the Elder scrolls, and blah blah blah belong to Bethesda Softworks, you know the drill, I own Nothing)_

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I don't know what it is about me, but no matter what the mishap, the gods must always find it necessary to make it rain. I hate the rain, And being wet already, I would not leave Madori alone until he agreed to make camp. And we found the most interesting ruin, however, of course of questionable safety.

"_Ri, do you know anything about these ruins?" _I asked

"Not these in particular, Why?" Ri replied

_I have to find a weapon, or a substantial source of magic, soon. _I thought

I could feel my strength begin to wane, as my runestone, began to use my lifeforce as energy to sustain itself, I can usually use the lifeforce of enemies to sustain its magical energy, but now, due to my own stupidity, That will not be an option for a while.

"_I need to find a weapon Ri, do you think that I might be able to find an acceptably sharp killing instrument down here?" _I asked

" Seems likely Katia," Ri replied as we continued down a spiral staircase, deeper into the ruins. "judging by the lack of major decay this far down, I'd say that the Aylied's ancient traps have deterred dungeon divers from claiming this city's treasure."

I cringed at the prospect of traps laying untripped somewhere down there.

Suddenly, I heard whispering, hauntingly echoing through the vacant halls

"_thi iar……….thi iar thys sor aeraesar sysesi" _And I understood them, They were calling me, and I began to feel my body, begin to slip from my control. I tried with all my might to let Ri know I was in trouble.

"_R..Ri" _I stammered "_Im being possessed, don't let them make me do something I ..r..r..regret" _

I forced out the last words as I slipped fully under the control of the force, as Ri took attention to me.

I continued to delve deeper into the black abyss of the ruin, not knowing where I really was. Unbeknownst to me, madori, who was following closely behind me, was suddenly stopped in his tracks by a barrier, that I apparently simply waltzed through.

The voices grew louder, but my body grew stronger, but so did the faint glow of my runestone, so far that, by the time I was finally able to control my legs, the entire, cavernous room was illuminated.

I held my breath after realizing that I was standing on a very narrow causway over a very deep pit.

The voices echoed through the cathedral like room one last time, saying something different this time

"thi iar eil tae shi vyraes o sai si ael os aezorali"

The voices almost seemed content, and with that last echo, a vault opened befor my startled eyes.

What I saw was amazing, hanging suspended in a glowing circle, was… another runestone, this one smaller than mine, but shaped like a tear, the inside of it dancing like fire. On a slab beneath the stone, lay a glaive, glowing with magic and razor sharp like the day it was forged. I reached out to touch it, and it seemed to hum in agreement with my presence. I lifted it from its tablet and proceeded to claim the runestone. It, however did not hum in agreement though, it was much better. I was enveloped in a field of energy, the familiar voices now roaring through my skull. This time though, they spoke in the common tounge,"_may we protect you…to the ends of existence" _where my bloodstained clothes once were, now lay a matching suit of armor, where had once been my damaged blouse and skirt, now lay a suit of red and white scale maille, my mothers cape, now lay repaired as if it had been freshly tailored, my thin leather shoes, replaced by white metal boots, and my torn and stained white gloves, replaced by blue and red gauntlets.

"_Wow!"_ I thought ecstatic about the amount of specificity of this treasure.

The runestone shrank and transmuted itself into a circlet, which melded itself around the top of my head, and the voices began to die, their last words, echoing, _"request and ye shall return"_

I turned around my new equipment in hand, and began to stroll down the same narrow causeway, and seeing madori, standing mouth agape, also began to think, what I would do to get him out of his latest stupor.

------------------------------------------------=-----------------------------------------------------------------hope you guys liked it, and a very special thanks to cloud reader, for snapping me back into shape. Remember to R&R

---Madori---


	8. Chapter 8

_You guys know the disclaimer malarkey, I own nothing as always_

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_Chapter 8, Calm Before the Storm_

Although I had just claimed an oh so perfectly suiting suit of armor from the ruin, poor Madori, apparently had a much harder time keeping up with me….

"do you have any idea what I had to go through to follow you through this hellhole! Huh!" Madori fumed as we started began setting up our campfire.

I giggled at the idea of Ri' bouncing off the walls trying to avoid traps that I ever so smoothly tripped for him, remembering especially, the gallery of dart guns, ow. I really have problems, don't I.

"_Ri, it couldn't have possibly been that bad,"_ I said, as I rolled out a bed mat.

"Really!!" Ri said, indignantly "like you would know, you didn't have to pick thirty seven trap darts out of you frikin ass! They could have been poisoned…………………

At that point, I simply ignored Ri's continuing rant.

"_ouch!"_ I thought, maybe it could be that bad. I tried to take the circlet off my head, realizing, that my scale armor, had no apparent means to remove it, perhaps this little runestone had the answer.

And it had it, the second I lifted it from my head, my new armor was replaced by my normal clothes, surprisingly, freshly laundered.

"_Okay, not the weirdest thing to happen to me today"_ I thought

………..and from now on I am NOT following you into anymore dungeons! **OKAY!!!"**

Madori yelled,

"_I don't have to listen to this" _I thought.

"_Goodnight Madori!"_ I said as I laid my head down on the scratchy bed mat.

Ri' frowned at the fact that I had completely ignored him, feeling himself to be quite a bit exhausted from the dart incident, decided to also lay down for some rest.

"_tomorrow, we start the hard stuff" _I thought as I felt the serenity of rest wash over my mind

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That next morning

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Ungh..Wha…what time is it? I groaned as I pulled myself up from the very uncomfortable bed roll.

I looked around, the eerily vacant room. Our fire had gone out, no surprising, however, considerably more interesting, Ri' was gone.

I grabbed my glaive, and began making my way towards the entrance of this dank labyrinth, not a moment too soon. I winced at the bright light hitting my eyes.

Ri! I called, trying to find if he was outside, and unfortunately he was .

"What!" Ri said, his voice a coming from behind me

"RI" I squealed, startled by the sudden materialization of my furry friend. "Don't do that!"

"Calm down" he said "Just a joke, lets get going, we have to leave now if we want to reach Chorrol by supper."

"Certainly gets right to the point, doesn't he" I thought.

"Fine lets go."

0--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We had been walking for about thirty minutes, chatting aimlessly, before I decided I actually wanted to have a conversation.

"So, Ri' where do you come from? I asked

"I hail from the deserts of the land of Elswyr, to the south, I came to cyrodiil to study magic at the arcane university, I was on my way to carry out an errand for one of the guild hall leaders when I came across you." Madori said

"How is it there" I asked, my head filled with memories of my own home, of Argwyll."

"Its fine, although I think my ancestors could have chosen a better place for our village, sand **everywhere!**It's a pain to get out of your fur, but then again you wouldn't know….or would you?" he laughed.

"there is a desert in my homeland too" I said "But its probably a much less hospitable place than your home."

"do tell" Ri said turning around and beginning to walk backwards.

"the deserts of Gromtull" I said "Lay in the southeast of the realm of Argwyll,near the borders of the province of Bashea, Unfortunately, other than taking the long trip by boat around the continent to the northern ports, there are only two ways I into Bashea, One, is the pass through Dahl-nok valley.."

"wait wait wait!" Ri said, "if you could go through the valley, why not take that route?"

"And I was getting to that." I said

"during the summer, the saravan river floods its banks and makes the valley's pass impassible.

"harsh" Ri said

"indeed" I said, continuing my story "the only other way is to cross the haunted wastelands of Gromtull."

"how haunted is this land, entirely?" Ri asked intently

"very haunted" I said "as in zombies an mummies stumbling over the dunes during the daytime, I've been through there, its really not pleasant."

"why do you speak of it so sentimentally then?" Ri asked.

I sighed "I tend to hang on to the less desirable memories, since I really don't have any of the nice ones."

We came to a wooden building, and we decided to use it as a place to rest.

Ri climbed on top of a nearby well and plopped himself down in a very stereotypically catlike pose.

"tell me more about your homeland!" ri said

"Later, Madori," we need to get to Weynon priory, I cant get sidetracked anymore."

"If I havent told you already, Katia" Madori sighed "we're already here."

"What!!!" I growled as I grabbed Madori's tail and pulled

"Ive got to choose less annoying friends" I thought as I walked up to the wooden doors of the priory.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------hope you guys liked it, if anyone has feedback, tell me!!!!

---Madori----


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